Here Sir, The People Govern.

One Great Error Is That We Suppose Mankind More Honest Than They Are.

We Are Attempting, By This Constitution, To Abolish Factions, And To Unite All Parties For The General Welfare.

Its Objects Are Contracts With Foreign Nations Which Have The Force Of Law, But Derive It From The Obligations Of Good Faith.

Hence, In A State Of Nature, No Man Had Any Moral Power To Deprive Another Of His Life, Limbs, Property, Or Liberty; Nor The Least Authority To Command Or Exact Obedience From Him, Except That Which Arose From The Ties Of Consanguinity.

Experience Teaches, That Men Are Often So Much Governed By What They Are Accustomed To See And Practice, That The Simplest And Most Obvious Improvements . . . Are Adopted With Hesitation, Reluctance, And Slow Gradations.